Be it a terracotta bust or the Old Testament, Davidson College professor Tom Clark had a knack for bringing things to life.

His keen eye and wit made him a talented artist and an even better teacher, his friends say. Though he never married and had no children, he left a hundred little legacies through his kindness, college courses and works of art beloved by collectors well beyond the Charlotte suburb where he spent much of his life.

Clark died the morning of Jan. 14 at age 93.

He was a graduate of Davidson College and Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, a professor of religion at his alma mater and an artist whose sculptures, particularly those of gnomes or wood spirits, were well known.

Clark had his roots in religion, beginning his career as a Presbyterian minister — although he wasn’t really the bombastic preacher type, cousin and close friend Dr. William Clark said.

“He was mild mannered,” William said. And even in his later years as a successful artist, “not a self promoter.”

But he had a talent for teaching, William said. Tom Clark joined the Davidson religion department in 1958 and spent more than two decades as a professor there, teaching courses on art and the Old and New Testaments.

He was “terribly popular” among students, William said, and his courses filled up fast. He was known for his sense of humor and clever approach to the subject material.

One example: he informally dubbed one of his courses as “CRAP”: Clark’s Religious Art Pictures, his cousin laughed.

In another story from his teaching, he was in his office late one night grading exams when a student “who shall remain nameless,” William said — we’ll call him Joe — crawled underneath the brush by the open window.

“Professor Clark! ” He called out in as deep a voice as he could muster. “This is Yahweh. Joe needs an A.”

“Oh, Lord!” Clark called back from his desk. “It’s too late. Tell him he earned a C-plus!”

Professor Clark was known for his Ford Thunderbird, short stature (“well under 6 feet,” his cousin said) and a habit of never wearing the same tie twice in a semester.

More than anything, William Clark said, his cousin had a knack for making his subject matter engaging and leaving an impact on his students. “He had a methodology of teaching that was extremely informative and yet enjoyable,” William Clark said. “He had a spark for entertaining that brought students to his class.”

Art was the thread that ran through several decades of Tom Clark’s life, William Clark said, long before it was his claim to fame. He took multiple art courses while still teaching at Davidson.

And instead of taking photographs, Tom Clark would fill his notebooks with drawings on the trips the two took together to destinations like England, Morocco and Egypt, his cousin said.

“You would be sitting in a Parisian café, having a coffee, and (Tom) would be sketching the person two tables over,” William Clark said.

Tom Clark sculpted his first gnome in 1978, after reading a book on the wood spirits. The business went “through the roof,” William said, and Clark left Davidson in 1985 to be a full-time artist.

But art remained a passion project.

“He was not really motivated by the financial piece of it,” William Clark said. “It wasn’t his top priority.”

He’d visit stores or shopping malls — to sell pieces, yes, but also to meet collectors and give demonstrations.

Clark’s gnomes, inspired by real people, were sold around the world and in more than 5,000 U.S. stores, according to the Davidson College website.

But his artistic talent was far greater and more versatile than his most popular works would suggest, William Clark said. He liked to draw and paint and sculpted miniatures and busts.

“I believe he was born with an artistic talent,” friend Jane Avinger added.

He was also a wonderful friend, maintaining a bond with Jane and her late husband after they moved to Davidson in 1967.

“He always had a twinkle in his eye and saw such a fun side of life,” Avinger said. “We were privileged to have known him.”